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A man searches through charred debris in a room at Asma school in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City

Any deal that excludes truce 'not an agreement' - Hamas

The leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has said that any deal that does not guarantee a ceasefire and an end to Israel's offensive in Gaza is "not an agreement".

Middle East • 25 Jun 24

Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment of the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon

UN head says Lebanon must not become 'another Gaza'

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah must not turn Lebanon into "another Gaza".

Middle East • 21 Jun 24

A smoke plume billows during Israeli bombardment across the border in south Lebanon earlier

Operational plans for Lebanon offensive 'approved' - IDF

The Israeli military has said operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon are "approved and validated" as Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement carry out cross-border exchanges of fire.

Middle East • 18 Jun 24

The commander was the most senior member of the group killed in eight months of fire between Israel and Hezbollah

Hezbollah fires rockets on Israel after strike

The Israeli military said successive rocket barrages were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, after an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon the previous day.

World • 12 Jun 24

The army said the attacker, a Syrian national, was detained and taken to hospital for treatment and soldiers were searching through the area for other gunmen

Gunman fires shots at US Embassy in Lebanon

A gunman fired shots at the US Embassy in Lebanon and was wounded in an exchange of fire with troops, the Lebanese army has said.

Middle East • 05 Jun 24

Israeli army tanks deployed in an area of Israel's southern border with the Gaza

Complete Israeli withdrawal needed for truce deal - Hamas

Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that the group could not agree to a deal that does not secure a clear Israeli position on a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal from Gaza.

Middle East • 04 Jun 24

Hezbollah members during an event gathering to mark annual Quds Day commemorations in Beirut on 5 April

Why conflict with Israel is the last thing Lebanon needs

The sectarian tensions that fuelled Lebanon's decades-long civil war are meant to have faded, but memories of a civil war, which ended in 1990, lie just beneath the surface.

Middle East • 29 May 24

Micheál Martin said the Irish troops in the region 'operate a first-class operation'

Tánaiste visits Irish UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence has praised the work of the Defence Forces serving in a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

Ireland • 19 May 24

Hezbollah said they fired 'dozens of rockets' at Kiryat Shmona

One killed by Hezbollah rocket strikes in northern Israel

Lebanon's Hezbollah has said it launched dozens of rockets at Kiryet Shmona, an Israeli town over the border, in response to deadly Israeli strikes on the village of Hebbariyeh in southern Lebanon yesterday.

Middle East • 27 Mar 24

Thirty Irish peacekeepers are stationed at UNP-652 on the Lebanon-Israel border.

Watch: Life at a UN outpost on the Lebanon-Israel border

What's life like for Irish soldiers based at a remote outpost on one of the most volatile frontiers in the Middle East?

Middle East • 01 Mar 24

Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon say they are taking precautions to protect themselves

Irish peacekeepers observe Israel use white phosphorus

Civic leaders in southern Lebanon have raised fears for the safety of civilians due to the use by Israel of the chemical weapon white phosphorus along the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Middle East • 29 Feb 24

A Mowag armoured personnel carrier at Camp Shamrock in Lebanon

Watch: On patrol with Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon

What is it like to drive one of the armoured personnel carriers used by Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon?

Middle East • 29 Feb 24

Lt. Col Stephen Mac Eoin said Irish troops are preparing any any further escalation in violence

Irish troops preparing for rise in violence in Lebanon

The battalion commander in charge of Irish and Polish peacekeepers in south Lebanon has said his troops are preparing for an escalation of violence between Hezbollah militants and Israel.

World • 28 Feb 24

Irish peacekeepers took shelter shortly before 8am

Irish troops in Lebanon take shelter amid rocket fire

Irish peacekeepers in South Lebanon were sent to bunkers this morning after rocket fire close to Camp Shamrock.

Ireland • 27 Feb 24

UN armoured vehicles are seen at Camp Shamrock

Watch: Camp Shamrock - home for Irish troops in Lebanon

Two distant bangs greeted us shortly after our arrival at UN base UNP 2-45, better known as Camp Shamrock, writes Justin McCarthy from Lebanon.

Ireland • 27 Feb 24

Smoke rises over Lebanon after Israeli bombardment yesterday

Hezbollah says Israel will pay 'in blood' over deaths

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group has signalled it would escalate attacks on Israel in response to the deaths of ten Lebanese civilians killed in Israeli attacks this week, while Israel has said it would remove Hezbollah from the border if diplomacy failed.

Middle East • 16 Feb 24

Israel said yesterday it was responding to rocket fire from Lebanon that killed one of its soldiers and wounded eight others in Safed

Hezbollah fires rockets into Israel in reprisal to deaths

Hezbollah has said it has fired dozens of rockets at a northern Israeli town in a "preliminary response" to the killing of ten civilians in southern Lebanon, the deadliest day for Lebanese civilians in four months of cross-border hostilities.

Middle East • 15 Feb 24

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made no concrete threats of action against Israel

Hezbollah 'cannot be silent' after Hamas leader's death

The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah has said it "cannot be silent" after the killing of Hamas' deputy leader in Beirut.

Middle East • 03 Jan 24

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the killing 'aims to draw' the country further into the Israel-Hamas war

Israeli strike kills senior Hamas official in Lebanon

Israel has killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike in Lebanon's capital Beirut, Lebanese and Palestinian security sources said, as its forces kept pummelling parts of Gaza, vowing further "high-intensity" warfare against the Islamist militant group in the enclave.

Middle East • 03 Jan 24

The Palestinian and Hezbollah flags wave in the wind as peacekeepers from UNIFIL patrol the border area between Lebanon and Israel

UN force in Lebanon urges probe as peacekeeper wounded

The United Nations' peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has called on authorities to investigate an attack in the country's south that left one of the force's members wounded.

Middle East • 28 Dec 23

Israel previously dropped leaflets over northern Gaza, urging Palestinian citizens to head south (File Image)

IDF drops flyers warning Lebanese against Hezbollah aid

The Israeli army has dropped leaflets on parts of south Lebanon for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began, warning residents not to help Hezbollah, inhabitants said.

Middle East • 15 Dec 23

Issam Abdallah was killed in the strike on 13 October

Probe shows Israeli shell used in strike on journalists

An investigation by the AFP news agency into a strike in southern Lebanon that killed a journalist and injured six others points to a tank shell only used by the Israeli army in the region.

World • 07 Dec 23

Members of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) rest next to an armed vehicle near the southern Lebanese village of Markaba

Risks rise for Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon - UNIFIL

Daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants are increasing the risk for the UN's peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon as a major UN peacekeeping conference gets under way.

Middle East • 05 Dec 23

Private Sean Rooney was killed in south Lebanon last year

Lebanon releases suspect in Irish peacekeeper killing

A man suspected of fatally shooting Irish UN peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney in south Lebanon has been released after spending almost a year in detention, a military court official has said.

Ireland • 15 Nov 23

Israeli army tracked medical vehicles close to the border with Lebanon, amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel

Cash-strapped Lebanon unprepared as war threat looms

Lebanese emergency crews rush to the scene of Israeli bombardments in ageing vehicles and without protective gear as the crisis-hit country struggles to prepare for a possible war.

Middle East • 31 Oct 23